Pro marriage groups and politicians have blasted the UK Government’s plan to redefine the words “husband” and “wife” to refer to either sex.

Under the wording of the Coalition’s same-sex marriage legislation “wives” could be men and “husbands” could be women.

The redefinition of marriage means old laws which gave protections or benefits to husbands or wives will become outdated, the Daily Mail reports.

The Oxford Dictionary currently defines “wife” as “A woman joined to a man by marriage; a married woman” and husband as “A man joined to a woman by marriage”.

But new rules, drawn up to fit with the Government’s legislation, will overrule the dictionary and scrap the centuries-old definitions of male and female spouses.

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill is due to complete its final stages through Parliament this summer.

But updated guidance issued in ‘explanatory notes’ explains why ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ will become interchangeable.

It sets out how every mention of a marriage in any existing laws must now be considered to include same-sex marriages, in addition to a wedding between a man and a woman.

And where legislation refers to a ‘husband’ or a ‘wife’ it must now be taken to mean either a man or a woman who has tied the knot.

The Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963 states that health and safety rules need not apply if the only person employed to work there is the ‘husband, wife, civil partner ……of the person by whom they are so employed’.

The new guidance states: ‘This means that “husband” here will include a man or a woman in a same sex marriage, as well as a man married to a woman.

‘In a similar way, “wife” will include a woman married to another woman or a man married to a man.

‘The result is that this section is to be construed as including both male and female same sex marriage.’

But the move has been crtiicised for reversing centuries of understanding about what spouses are called.

During debates in Parliament, Lord Tebbit said: ‘It sounds not merely like gobbledegook but the reversal of the natural and normal meaning of words.’

A spokesman for the Coalition for Marriage, which campaigns against the change, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘We always knew the Government would tie itself in knots trying to redefine marriage, and this shows what a ridiculous mess they’ve created.

‘This mangling of the English language shows what happens when politicians meddle with marriage. They’re in cloud cuckoo land.’